May 21, 2012

A new toy

I had no idea that my legs could be so sore! WOW. I've been taking Motrin every 6-8 hours, but it's seriously hard to walk. I'm definitely taking a whole week off of running, possibly two weeks. It will be good to let my knee heal up, too.

When I woke up this morning, I was definitely in a better mood than I was yesterday regarding the marathon. I think some people misunderstood me when I said I wasn't feeling excited or proud... I didn't mean that I was mad at myself, or down about my time/pace, or anything like that. I just meant that I didn't really FEEL anything except for relief that it was over. I had worked myself up so much about it, and to have it finally be over was a nice feeling.

And besides, I don't think that my finish time was BAD at all! The only reason I felt slightly disappointed about it was because our training pace was faster than our marathon pace. For most people, it's the opposite. You train at a slower pace than you will run the race. But we trained in mostly ideal weather conditions, so we weren't really prepared for the heat.

Today, I am actually feeling excited about my accomplishment. I put my sticker on my car last night, and seeing it this morning made me smile. I think my biggest disappointment yesterday was crossing the finish line and NOT feeling the excitement and pride that so many people told me I would feel in that moment. As I crossed the finish line, the only thing I could think of was, "I can stop running now... YAY!" I guess it just took a while for that pride to kick in (and reading your comments certainly helped!!)

So as of today, yes--I am proud of myself for running a marathon yesterday! A few years ago, I never would have imagined, in a million years, that I would ever run a marathon. And yesterday, I did just that. I had a lot of obstacles--the heat, the humidity, my knee pain, the mental barriers--but I pushed through those. I still have no idea how I managed to push through, but I did! ;)

I still don't have any desire to do another full, however... but perhaps someday, after I forget the bad stuff about the first one, I will get that desire. Certainly not anytime soon!

I took a big leap today and bought an iPhone. I've never been big into cell phones, and I've always chosen simplicity over the bells and whistles. But my 3-year old phone fell and broke last week, and it was still working, but it kept coming apart. So I decided to upgrade to a smart phone.

Since my contract was up with Verizon, I could get the iPhone 4S for $200. Yes, that is still a lot of money--but I have had a cell phone for 12 years, and I have NEVER paid for one--I just took whatever Verizon was offering for free when my contract was up to renew.

Jerry has a Droid, but I chose to get an iPhone--not sure why, it just sounded good to me. I'm already in LOVE with it. The whole Siri thing is awesome--I've been talking to her all morning ;) I love that she can even type out my text messages for me, because getting used to a touch screen for typing is going to be hard.

I love that I don't have to type out my food log--I can just scan the bar code on my food and it adds it in there! That is a huge time saver. And it kind of makes tracking my food more fun.Which leads me to my next goal--reaching my goal weight.

Remember how I said I wanted to focus on reaching goal this summer? All through marathon training, I was slacking off with my diet a lot--so I have to reign it in and get focused again. And that means counting calories again until I feel more in control.

I didn't weigh myself when I got home from Cleveland, because I really don't want to know what running a marathon did to my weight--whether I'm retaining water or maybe dehydrated, I just don't want to know. I'll get on the scale Friday to see where I stand!

I found out today which issue of Fitness I will make an appearance in. You can find me in the June 26th issue of Fitness magazine, along with 11 other bloggers who were named Fitterati's. I will also be posting occasionally on Fitness.com, so I will always link to that when I do.

I just wanted to say congrats on finishing the marathon and being totally honest on how you felt finishing! I'm training to do my first marathon in January, hope it's not too hot but it is in Miami so my hopes for cooler weather aren't high!

Hey Katie,First time commenting, just want to say congrats and thanks for your blog, it helps me. Also think I will get the Iphone now if it has a texting app that I can just talk to! Hate the bill every month idea but need to go with the flow on this.

Congrats on your marathon! You really did great, especially given that conditions were less than ideal out on the course. I totally get what you're saying about the feeling at the finish line because it was 100% the same way for me. I nearly collapsed with relief at the finish line and was so hot and exhausted and sore that all I wanted to do was lie down and not move for a while. It took at least a few hours (and a nap!!) for the sense of accomplishment to really kick in. Enjoy your new phone!

Hey katie!Welcome to the iphone family. Right now my iphone is my "garmin". I have an app that keeps time, distance, pace, and gps map. Until i get my garmin this thing works well enough. I am very inspired about your marathon, from start of training till crossing the finish line! I someday want to do one so reading about your experiences has been very motivating. Thank you so much for sharing!!

I agree--congratulations on your first marathon! I had a very similar experience my first marathon (in Honolulu!) and couldn't believe how hard it was to actually finish it! If you ever do decide to do another, you've learned many important lessons!

Having run a few of them, I will tell you I never feel anything but sweet relief when I cross the finish line--it's like...Thank God that's done! Also, I have a difficult time with watching my weight during marathon training. Hard to stay focused when you are so hungry and tired a lot of the time. Somehow, for me, I gained weight. Right now I'm focusing on shorter distance and strength training to get off a couple of pounds.

And yes, welcome to the iPhone family!!! So many cool things you can do with it.

It sounds like you had a delayed reaction, in a positive way. With the heat (sounds horrid!) and your poor knee, it is incredible that you finished. You sure are a determined woman. Have fun with your new toy. You deserve it. I will be looking for that Fitness magazine. Tell us when it is available. I'm thrilled about your column, too!

I'm happy to hear that you're feeling more than just relief now about your participation in the marathon :) I want you to know that I felt a huge amount of thrill and pride for you when I read your blog entry so I had you covered for yesterday ;) Sorry to hear you're in pain today. A break from running definitely sounds in order! Rest and recuperate :)

So glad that you're feeling better about your race!! But, I can totally understand the disappointment of not maintaining your training pace. You expect race day adrenaline to give you an extra boost. But between a severe lack of sleep (I seriously don't know how you managed to even run on ONE HOUR of sleep! That's nuts!) knee pain, heat, etc . . . Those were some major obstacles to overcome . . . and those obstacles really mess with your head. I'm proud of you for overcoming it all! And who knows?? . . . maybe someday you'll get race day amnesia (closely related to childbirth amnesia) and decide that you want to see if you can do better next time!

You will love the phone! Glad to see your spirits up today! I had to go to the Dr and get an injection after my first race, apparently I developed bursitis in my knee- it was miserable! Also mobic works wonders (prescription) also from the orthopod. Hope it gets better

Your new iPhone case is super cute! Once I got a smart phone that was when my Facebook addiction started, haha! I'd find myself waiting for the bus or food or something and I'd read statuses. And I can understand a little how you feel about finishing the half marathon. When I was training for my first ever 10k this year, I was training in the winter cold and did great. Then when I got to Hawaii it was super hilly and of course HOT! I was miserable and just wanted it to end. Honestly I think you were surrounded by people at the finish line who were just so happy it was OVER because they were in pain!!! :D

Wait, Siri types out texts, too??!! I had NO idea and I have a 4S! I actually turned Siri off recently because she kept coming on when I was running a 5K and it would then turn off my music... Hmmm, I may need to go turn her back on! :).

Congrats on your AMAZING marathon run yesterday! I am a somewhat new reader of yours and find you incredibly inspiring! I lost just over 80 lbs last year on Weight Watchers and exercise, and have recently ran my first 10K. Your story has honestly motivated me a lot in my newfound "strong like" of running... Can't say I am in love, but I guess it says something by the fact I am looking at running a half marathon next spring, lol.

I have a smartphone, Samsung Galaxy, and I love it although I'm thinking of switching to an iphone when I'm due to renew my contract. Not because the Galaxy is bad but because I feel like the iphone can do so much more. I will not however, ever go back to a non-smartphone type of phone. I know its a luxury, but I just feel safer...weird I know lol

Congrats again on being chosen for Fiteratti, the Fitness Magazine article and being able to continue to write for them. What a great opportunity!!!

What app do you use to scan the food barcodes with? Hopefully not SparkPeople, otherwise I've been missing out the whole time I've been using their app!!!

You will get used to the touch screen keyboard in no time and pretty soon you'll have a hard time remembering a time before you had one. LOL! We got my mom one for Christmas two years ago and she was soooo slow at first, but now she talks about how she couldn't live without it. It makes so many things so much more convenient! :)

I'm not sure what food app she uses but MyFitnessPal and MyNetDiary both have barcode scanners in them! I used to scan my foods and on some I still do. However, If I scanned for a slice of cheese it was not reading accurately to my cheese! It didn't happen a lot or with many foods but just double check! Also, after putting in the food so often it will save! Hope this helped!!

As guilty as I feel for cheating on SparkPeople, the Spark app doesn't have the bar code scanner. So I put the My Fitness Pal app on my phone because that one has the scanner. If Spark ever adds a scanner to their app, I'll switch over in a heart beat (I like Spark better because I can portion in grams); but for now, I'll just use the MFP app.

I'm not sure of this, but I read somewhere that if you have a Droid, you can use a scanner on Spark--but not an iPhone. Not sure if this is true, though.

I am so glad it's "sinking in" for you, Katie! You have done an awesome job! Glad you're liking your iPhone. I just got one recently as well. When you get a chance, tell Siri you love her - her replies are hilarious! It is also really funny to ask her what color she is. Those folks at Apple. So clever.

I was wondering, which app are you using for your food that you can just scan the barcode for the nutrition info? That sounds SO COOL! I started SparkPeople thanks to you - that sure would be a time saver!

I love my iPhone too and agree that scanning my food is so much more fun than typing it in! It means I actually track more, I used to be on weight watchers and their app could certainly use a scanner on it. I'm now just calorie counting after reading your post about the pros and cons and realised I agreed with you on a lot of things and believe me I was queen of making sure I got every last gram for each weight watchers point and then realised I was eating to get the most out of my points when I should be eating what I feel like eating until I'm satisfied and then stop so thank you for that!Congratulations once again on your marathon - my 'marathon' is a two mile swim in a lake in England - wish me luck!!Hannah www.willmoveforcake.blogspot.com

When i finshed my last 10k all I felt when I crossed the finish line was sick lol. Have to say that although I've only done a couple of races I didn't feel a sense of anything straight after either. I think it's alot like christmas - you build it up so much that the actual event cannot live up to it lol.Races are also like giving birth too - you convince yourself never again, the pain is too much, the entire experience unenjoyable and not to be repeated. Only takes a few days to forget all that though and one day you'll find yourself at that start line thinking 'WTF'. lol.

Katie Girl you rock! I think you were just fantastic in your first marathon. But heres my prediction: you absolutely will run another marathon...why? Because you didnt like the way this one turned out. Because after you spend time reflecting you will want to have a better handle on it. You didnt feel in control from the very beginning. Thats not your style and I think thats going to eat at you and you are going to want to do another one and show it whos boss!!! lolo You are AMAZING and I adore (and appreciate) your candor.

I have a cheapo phone that I can supposedly access the web and text, but I choose not to. I have it strictly for when my kids are sick at school or I'm stuck in my car. It costs between $10-15 a month, pay-as-you-go. I would probably love the toy, but would just get a tablet or an iPod touch to play with instead. Funny how after that bad experience on your run you picked birds for your iPhone case!!! (Reminds me of 'The Partridge Family.' Could you possibly know about that show?)

Katie - I ran on Sunday, too, at the Rite Aid Marathon. My first half! I have lost 75lbs and just started running last August. I can REALLY related to your finish line feelings. I was so ambivalent (but also emotional, if that makes sense) but not HAPPY or super proud. Honest to God, looking back, I think I might have been close to heat stroke or dangerous dehydration. I was just out of it, and wonder if you were too (Apparently, 140 runners needed serious medical attention after that race...that's a lot!) Those conditions were miserable, and the awful hill at mile 9 just killed me. Now, a couple days post race, and the pride is REALLY coming on strong...and I'm thinking of doing another. You did a great job!!!

That is a cute case for your phone but I will make a suggestion, get an otter box. They are expensive but I have dropped my phone down the basement stairs, many times on the tile floor in my kitchen and it is still in perfect condition. My friend who suggested it to me actually drove over his with his car and it is fine. I know so many people who have dropped their phone and the glass screen shattered.

Congratulations again! And you're smart to avoid the scale. I did the Avon walk a couple of years ago, and jumped on the scale the first thing the next morning - figuring walking 40 miles would burn calories, instead of realizing that my fluids were WAY off. And then when I saw that I was up 7 lbs, I started a pity party binge that started a downward spiral. It was weeks before I was able to shake myself out, and then had some serious damage to undo. :-( I didn't fall for it the next year, though, thank goodness. =-)

Congratulations on such an amazing accomplishment! I have run two half marathons and will run a third this fall. I never thought I would want to run a full but after following your blog, I think I might just take the plunge in a year or two. For soreness, try Aleve (naproxen) instead of ibuprofen. It tends to work better for muscle soreness and stiffness. Arnica gel (or arnica-profen cream) can also help a TON with the soreness and stiffness. You can find it at some mom and pop pharmacies or health food/homeopathic stores, and it works wonders fore soreness and making bruises disappear quickly. I had some serious knee pain after both of my half marathons and it helped me so much (FYI I am the product of a family full of pharmacists so this info is legit, not just from my personal experience). Again, congratulations and thanks for being an inspiration to so many women!

Congrats on the marathon! I read your post yesterday and totally got it. Sometimes when you work so hard for something, it feels almost surreal when it's over and it takes some time to realize 'Holy crap, I did it!'. You did awesome!

I'd love to hear from you! I read all of my comments, and if you have a question, I do my best to respond; sometimes, however, I get busy and forget to go back to reply, so if it's important, just email me! :) (I had to turn on comment moderation due to a ton of spam comments; but I will approve your comment asap!)

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